A recent trend in the repairing of gas utility service lines is towards so called "small hole" techniques by which underground repairs are conducted within relatively deep but small-area excavations within which the line to be repaired is exposed. The area of excavation is smaller than that which would permit a repairman to lower himself into the hole and, therefore, all of the necessary repairs must be performed standing at ground level and working with extension tools which extend downwardly to the pipe joint or conduit connection and are manipulatable while standing at ground level to effectuate the required removal or replacement of the connection between a gas service line and a gas main, for example. These "small hole" techniques avoid large size excavations which take longer to create and refill and, when left open overnight or unattended, pose dangers to the vehicular traffic and to pedestrians at the street locations where such repairs must be performed. The substantial costs and dangers in making the large size excavations are thereby reduced significantly.
Vacuum digging techniques have been developed by which relatively deep excavation having fairly small areas of opening can be made to reach the service line connection to the main for the required repair, after the street surface has been broken. In addition, a number of long-handled tools for making the repairs remotely while standing at ground level, and special techniques for manipulating such tools have been developed. However, when either capping a gas service using a plugged saddle or replacing the saddle of a riser-tee connection between a gas main and a service line, it has been found that the so-called "small hole" tools which have been developed are not useable to position and hold the U-bolt of the saddle beneath the main while the saddle is installed.
It is therefore intended by the present invention to provide a tool and a method for working from a standing position, at ground level, within a very narrow excavation, to manipulate a U-bolt into its required upright position, while holding it at a location beneath the exposed main, for the required attachment of the saddle thereto, which procedure is commonly used for removing or replacing an underground gas service line. The tool should be readily controllable from the above-ground location and, of course, must be effective to position and hold the U-bolt without undue difficulty.